|
|
|
| ACCOUNT INFO | ||||||
|
|
 |
| Why do you need a Secure Sleeve® or Secure Badgeholder®? |
 About RFID RFID, Radio Frequency Identification, is the technology that lets you simply wave your credit card, passport or license in front of a nearby scanner instead of having to slide the magnectic stripe through it. It’s a fairly simple concept. The electronic scanner sends a signal which is received by an antenna embedded into the card, which is connected to the card's RFID chip, thus activating it. RFID and SkimmingThe RFID chip in a credit card emits the account number, expiration data and other information. About 100 million credit cards now have this technology embedded into them. However, over the next 2-3 years, it is expected that credit card issuers will replace every single magnetic stripe credit and debit card with a new contactless smartcard, and why shouldn't they? The new cards seem to make it all easier. So much easier that some folks are reading your credit cards before you even take them out of your wallet. Those folks are called identity thieves, and the unfortunate truth is that RFID technology has made identity theft quite literally a stroll in the park. Where credit card "Skimming" used to require the thief to get his hands on your card, acquiring your personal data is now as easy as passing you on the street.  Readers are employed by convenience stores, pharmacies, restaurants, fast food markets, and many other places of business. Credit card companies say it keeps your identity safer, because your card is never in the hands of a stranger. Readers include safety features to keep your data from being intercepted once it has been read from your card. However, these same readers can be freely purchased and attached to a laptop with very little technical knowledge required. They’ve even created cell phones with built in card readers that can steal your information. How many times have you walked by someone carrying a briefcase? Would you even be suspicious? By simply walking past you, this person acquires your credit card number, expiration date and more to do with what he pleases. |
What can you do? RFID chips are becoming more and more common. How can you keep your identity safe? One way is to be suspicious of every passing pedestrian. Another option is Identity Stronghold Secure Sleeves and Secure Badgeholders. RFID and Other CardsThe use of RFID tagging in identification extends far beyond payment cards. Right now many corporations are using contactless cards to maintain security in their buildings. However, RFID actually poses a huge threat to that security. Hackers can use RFID readers to scan and then copy ID cards. To an electronic reader, ID cards and their clones are seen as identical. Recent YouTube videos demonstrate hackers cloning MiFare ID cards in Europe. Because of federal mandate HSPD-12, all government agencies are required to switch to a new ID card that uses RFID. This mandate requires all government employees to keep these new ID cards in an RFID blocking sleeve or badgeholder for privacy and security. Shouldn't you protect your privacy the same way? All US passports issued since October 2006 also have RFID chips in them. The chip contains all the data that is on the first page including your photo. It has been shown that hackers can determine what country a passport has been issued from without even reading all the data on it, simply by recognizing the way the chip responds to certain scans. A growing number of states (New York, Michigan, Washington, and Vermont, to name a few) are now issuing special driver’s licenses "enhanced" with long range RFID chips. Enhanced Driver’s Licenses (EDLs) can be scanned from your wallet, while you are still in your car. EDLs make travel across the border a little easier, and if not kept in a shielding privacy sleeve, unwanted invasion of your privacy much more "convenient". Identity StrongholdSince inception, Identity Stronghold has been the market leader in RFID shielding of contactless smart cards and passports. Our special alloy sleeves and badgeholders block the radio signals needed to read the information contained on RFID cards. Identity Stronghold has sold over 6 million RFID blocking products to date. Our products are tested for effectiveness and approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The US government has purchased products from Identity Stronghold for years to protect the ID cards of NASA, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, the White House, and hundreds of other agencies.
Click above to watch video from a company that makes cell phones with scanners embeded in them. You would never know if someone waved one of these by your back pocket. |
Secure Sleeves® recognized as a needed product by the Associated Press.
Identity Stronghold recognized the need for privacy protection for RFID chipped items and created a new industry in RFID shielding protection in the early 2000’s. However until recently, the press and major credit card companies have been slow to recognize the privacy dangers associated with RFID chips that have been used in commercial and private sectors. Examples of their use would be in items such as credit cards, debit cards, healthcare cards, ID cards, and transportation cards including most subway fare cards. We are happy to see the public at large being made aware of the need for protection. The recent Associated Press article was a step in the right direction in bringing about awareness of the need for personal privacy protection when using RFID. Click here to read the Associated Press report. Please help us spread the word about the need for these RFID blocking products by telling your friends and family before they become victims of identity theft. You can also help by adding our link to your blog or other web page. Why you need Secure Sleeve® products from Identity Stronghold Because you have a: Debit or Credit Card TWIC Card Click here for more details on TWIC Employer ID/Proximity Card Enhanced Driver’s License Government Employee PIV Card U.S. Passport |
|
|
|